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Monday, 19 August 2013

Vivien's Heavenly Ice Cream Shop by Abby Clements

When Imogen and Anna unexpectedly inherit their grandmother Vivien’s ice cream parlour, it turns both their lives upside-down. The Brighton shop is a seafront institution, but while it’s big on charm it’s critically low on customers. If the sisters don’t turn things around quickly, their grandmother’s legacy will disappear forever.

With summer looming, Imogen and Anna devise a plan to return Vivien’s to its former glory. Rather than sell up, they will train up, and make the parlour the newest destination on the South Coast foodie map.

While Imogen watches the shop, her sister flies to Italy to attend a gourmet ice cream-making course. But as she works shoulder-to-shoulder with some of the best chefs in the industry, Anna finds that romance can bloom in the most unexpected of places…

Bring some sunshine into you life in the form of Abby Clements' beautiful second novel Vivien's Heavenly Ice Cream Shop

After the unexpected death of their grandmother, Anna and Imogen are shocked to learn that they have inherited, her ice cream shop.As the girls start to assess their lives and work on making Granny V proud, they are about to discover that life like Ice cream can be ruined if rushed but also temptingly sweet!

I will warn you now, I may get gushy. I LOVED this story, it's a tale of family, friendship and discovery. A story that will pull you in and take you away from that rainy bus journey to the streets of Florence with a heavenly gelato in hand!

With so many wonderful characters, I don't know where to begin:

First off, we have Granny V, the family matriach, the character that starts it all. Throughout the story I got the feeling that she knew all along that this new challenge was what her granddaughters needed, that they both were ready to finally find themselves.

Then there is Tom, Anna and Imogen's dad, his grief is immense and at times I felt so sorry for him, but one thing remains throughout, the love for his girls.

Then we have Finn and Matteo, wow and wow. Two men, so very different but both instantly attractive within the pages. Finn the rugged helpful surf instructor and Matteo creator of divine ice cream with romance flooding through his veins.Like an extra ingredient within the book, these characters add something incredible to the mix.

And finally I come to the main characters, Anna and Imogen.

Anna seems the more grounded of the two sisters, but throughout the story she probably goes on the most emotional journey. I loved Anna's drive for success and her creativity

But for me Imogen was my favourite of the two, and this is purely for personal reasons. Having gone through the same as Imogen this year I found myself relating to her the most.She's away from home in search of her dreams when she gets a call that changes everything.It was great reading how her character grows and deals with her inner turmoil, of where does she belong.

With the wonderful descriptions of Brighton and Florence, it really is a holiday for the mind, asAbby Clements delivers a summer read that is as heavenly as ice cream and leaves you hungry for more!